Flat surface touch device for introducing visual effects

ABSTRACT

An electrode and an isolation layer of a touch device are the same color, so that a user of the touch device perceives a good visual effect without having to employ expensive optical adhesive and decorative films in the touch device. The front bezel design used in conventional touch devices can thus be abandoned. Further, simpler fabrication, higher yield rate, and lower cost are also achieved.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Taiwan Patent Application No.100116725, filed May 12, 2011, and included herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a flat surface touch device, and moreparticularly, to a flat surface touch device introducing good visualeffects through an isolation layer and an electrode of the flat surfacetouch device having a same color to shield another electrode on a baseplate of the flat surface touch device without using optical adhesivesand decoration plates.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Conventional touch devices include resistive, capacitive, infrared, andsound-wave touch panels, where the resistive touch panel includesfour-wire, five-wire, and six-wire touch panels. Conventionally, afull-planar visual effect can be achieved on a touch panel without usinga front bezel by using highly-transparent optical adhesives to bind adecoration plate to the touch panel, where the decoration plate isutilized for shielding edges of the touch panel.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which schematically illustrates a lateral viewof a conventional analog matrix-type touch device 200 which may beutilized for four-wire/five-wire/six-wire/capacitive touch devices. Asshown in FIG. 1, the analog matrix-type touch device 200 includes adecoration plate 210, a dye 220, an high-transparency optical adhesive230, and a body 100. The decoration plate 210, the dye 220, and theoptical adhesive 230 are utilized for achieving the full-planar visualeffect.

Please refer to FIGS. 2-3. FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a verticaland transparent view of the body 100 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 illustratesa lateral and transparent view of the body 100 shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, at least a plurality of electrodes 110 are alignedin horizontal bars and a plurality of electrodes 120 are aligned invertical bars on the body 100. The plurality of electrodes 110 isorthogonal to the plurality of electrodes 120 in alignment. Moreover, aplurality of conductive wires 150 is disposed on a lateral side of thebody 100 corresponding to the plurality of electrodes 110 and 120, andis electrically coupled to the plurality of electrodes 110 and 120 fortransmitting sense signals of the analog matrix-type touch device 200.

FIG. 3 shows the lateral side of the body 100 along a section line AMR_Sshown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the body 100 further includes baseplates 160 and 165, a plurality of separated electrodes 155, a pluralityof conductive wires 150 regarded as a plurality of second electrodes, anelectrode 175, a plurality of dot spacers 185, and an adhesive layer190. The plurality of electrodes 155 and 175, which are regarded asfirst electrodes, are utilized for generating a uniform electrical fieldon the analog matrix-type touch device 200. The conductive wires 150 areutilized for transmitting signals. Therefore, higher conductivity isrequired by the conductive wires 150 than the plurality of electrodes155 and 175.

Conventionally, the base plate 160 is transparent, so that as shown inFIG. 2, the conductive wires 150 and the isolation layer 180 are visibleto a user of the analog matrix-type touch device 200. Therefore, thefull-planar visual effect cannot be fulfilled, since the user sees theconductive wires 150 at the edges of the analog matrix-type touch device100.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

For overcoming the defect that the full-planar visual effect cannot befulfilled on a conventional touch device, the present inventiondiscloses a full-planar touch device as an improvement.

The claimed invention discloses a flat surface touch device whichcomprises a first base plate, a transparent conductive film, a firstelectrode, a first isolation layer, a second electrode, a secondisolation layer, an adhesive layer and a second base plate. The firstbase plate is a transparent base plate. The transparent conductive filmis formed on a first side of the first base plate. The first electrodeis formed on a first side of the transparent conductive film andelectrically coupled to the transparent conductive film. The firstisolation layer is formed on the first side of the transparentconductive film and a first side of the first electrode. The secondelectrode is formed on the first side of the first electrode. A color ofthe second electrode is different from a color of the first electrode.The second isolation layer is formed on a first side of the secondelectrode. A color of the first isolation layer is the same with thecolor of the first electrode. The adhesive layer disposed on a firstside of the second isolation layer. The second base plate is formed on afirst side of the adhesive layer.

The claimed invention also discloses a flat surface touch device whichcomprises a first base plate, a transparent conductive film, a firstisolation layer, a first electrode, a second electrode, a secondisolation layer, an adhesive layer and a second base plate. The firstbase plate is a transparent base plate. The transparent conductive filmis formed on a first side of the first base plate. The first isolationlayer is formed on the first side of the first base plate and the firstside of the transparent conductive layer. The first electrode is formedon the first side of the transparent conductive film and electricallycoupled to the transparent conductive film. The second electrode isformed on a first side of the first electrode. A color of the secondelectrode is different from a color of the first electrode. The secondisolation layer is formed on a first side of the second electrode. Acolor of the first isolation layer is the same with the color of thefirst electrode. The adhesive layer is disposed on a first side of thesecond isolation layer. The second base plate is disposed on a firstside of the adhesive layer.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a lateral view of a conventional analogmatrix-type touch device.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a vertical and transparent view of thebody shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a lateral and transparent view of the body shown inFIG. 2.

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate touch devices according to embodiments of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a top and transparent view of the touch device shownin FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The purpose of the present invention is to achieve the full-planarvisual effect without using highly-transparent optical adhesives orfront bezels, by directly utilizing a conductive film having a samecolor as an edge frame of a touch device, so that the conductive filmand the edge frame are uniform in appearance. In the followingembodiments of the present invention, internal structure of the body 100is adapted, and the adaption of the body 100 will be introduced with theaid of lateral views along the section lines AMR_S or AMR_L shown inFIG. 2.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which illustrates a side view of a touch device300 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, where theside view is shown along the section line AMR_L shown in FIG. 1 forintroducing an inner structure of the touch device 300. As shown in FIG.4, the touch device 300 includes base plates 310 and 380, a conductivefilm 320, a first electrode 330, a plurality of isolation layers 340 and360, a second electrode 350, and an adhesive layer 370. The secondelectrode 350 may have a same effect and material as the conductivewires 150 shown in FIG. 2, and may also be implemented with metalconductive wires made of silver, copper, molybdenum, aluminum, and/or analloy. A color of the first electrode 330 is different from a color ofthe second electrode 350. The base plate 310 is a transparent plate. Theconductive film 320 is a transparent film. Therefore, both the baseplate 310 and the conductive film 320 are transparent to the user.

In an embodiment of the present invention, materials of the base plate310 may include glass, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Acrylic,Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), or Polycarbonate. Materials of theconductive film 320 may include metal oxides, such as Indium tin oxide(ITO), Indium zinc oxide (IZO), and Aluminum or zinc oxide (AZO), andmay also include transparent conductive polymer film or transparentmetal film.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, the touch device 300 includes a transparentbase plate 310, a conductive film 320, a first electrode 330, anisolation layer 340, a second electrode 350, an isolation layer 360, anadhesive layer 370, and a base plate 380 from bottom to top, where acolor of the first electrode 330 is the same as a color of the isolationlayer 340. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the conductive film 320 is formedon a top side of the base plate 310; the first electrode 330 is formedon a top side of the conductive film 320 and is electrically coupled tothe conductive film 320; the isolation layer 340 is formed on a top sideof the conductive layer 320 and a top side of the first electrode 330;the second electrode 350 is formed on a top side of the isolation layer340 and the top side of the first electrode 330; and the isolation layer360 is formed on the top side of the isolation layer 340 and a top sideof the second electrode 350. However, the top side of any element isdescribed with respect to the touch device 300. If the touch device 300shown in FIG. 4 is reversed, then the top side of the above-mentionedelements is changed to be a bottom side according to another embodimentof the present invention. For uniformity, the top side of theabove-mentioned elements is regarded as a first side, and the bottomside of the above-mentioned elements is regarded as a second sidethroughout the description, and vice versa.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, when line of sight of an observer passesthrough the transparent base plate 310 and the conductive film 320, onlythe first electrode 330 and the isolation layer 340 having the samecolor will be visible, whereas the second electrode 350 is invisible.

Please refer to FIG. 5, which illustrates a lateral and transparent viewof a touch device 400 according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention, where the lateral and transparent view is shown along thesection line AMR_L shown in FIG. 2, so as to illustrate the innerstructure of the touch device 400 in detail. Difference between thetouch devices 300 and 400 lies in a reversed order of printing the firstelectrode 330 and the isolation layer 340; in other words, on the firstside (i.e., the top side) of the conductive film 320, the touch device400 at least includes the isolation layer 340, the first electrode 330,the second electrode 350, the isolation layer 360, the adhesive layer370 and the base plate 380 in that order. Note that the first electrode330 is also electrically coupled to the second electrode 350.

As can be seen from FIG. 5, since the first electrode 330 and theisolation layer 340 have the same color, the observer also observes thesame color of both the first electrode 330 and the isolation layer 340,and the second electrode 350 is invisible to the observer as well.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4-5, materials of the isolation layer340 may be the same as or different from materials of the isolationlayer 360 if necessary, i.e., colors of the materials of the isolationlayers 340 and 360 may be the same or different. In certain embodimentsof the present invention, the second electrode 350 may extend throughthe isolation layer 360, or the second electrode 350 may also bepartially disposed on the top side of the isolation layer 360, i.e., thesecond electrode 350 is not limited to being disposed on a bottom sideof the isolation layer 360 as shown in FIGS. 4-5.

Please refer to FIG. 6, which illustrates a lateral and transparent viewof a touch device 500 according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention, where the lateral and transparent view is formedcorresponding to the section line AMR_H shown in FIG. 2 for illustratingthe inner structure of the touch device 500 in detail. On the first sideof the conductive film 320, the touch device 500 at least includes theisolation layer 340, the second electrode 350, a transparent conductivelayer 510, the isolation layer 360, the adhesive layer 370, and the baseplate 380 in that order. The transparent conductive layer 510 iselectrically coupled to the second electrode 350.

As can be seen from FIG. 6, since both the base plate 310 and theconductive film 320 are transparent to the vision of the observer, onlythe color of the isolation film 340 will be observed by the observer.

Note that besides silver, copper, molybdenum, aluminum, and alloy, thesecond electrode 350 may also be implemented with other conductivemetals to form embodiments of the present invention. Besides, thestructures shown in FIGS. 4-6 may be applied on various types of theresistive touch devices or capacitive touch devices, such as thefour-wire, five-wire, six-wire, seven-wire, and eight-wire resistivetouch devices, or the matrix-type resistive touch device.

Numbers and arrangements of elements of the touch devices 300 and 400may be changed to form embodiments of the present invention. Forexample, a number of the first electrode 330 or the transparentconductive layer 510 utilized in the touch devices 300, 400, or 500 maybe multiple, and a plurality of first electrodes 330 may be arranged indots, in a line, in a quadrangle, or in any shape for utilizing thefirst electrode 330 or the transparent conductive layer 510 to perform aconducting function.

Please refer to FIG. 7, which illustrates a top and transparent view ofthe touch device 300 shown in FIG. 4, where the top and transparent viewis shown along the section line AMR_R of FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 7, aplurality of first electrodes 330 is arranged in dots. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, the plurality of first electrodes330 shown in FIG. 7 may be tightly connected to each other for forming aline-arranged electrode.

In the above-mentioned embodiments, a hard coat may be disposed on asecond side of the conductive film 320, i.e. an opposite side of thefirst side of the conductive film 320, for implementing a clear surfaceor an anti-glare surface. Since the process of the disposed hard coatmay be applied on any conventional transparent base plate, no furtherdescription or diagram will be shown for brevity.

The present invention discloses a plurality of full-planar touchdevices. By using a same color for both an electrode and an isolationlayer, good visual effects can be achieved for the user of the flatsurface touch device of the present invention without using opticaladhesives and decoration plates. The conventional front bezel isabandoned in the full-planar touch device of the present invention;therefore, simpler fabrication, higher yield, and lower cost of thetouch device are introduced as a result.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A flat surface touch device comprising: a firstbase plate which is a transparent base plate; a transparent conductivefilm formed directly on a first side of the first base plate; a firstelectrode formed directly on a first side of the transparent conductivefilm and electrically coupled to the transparent conductive film; afirst isolation layer formed directly on the first side of thetransparent conductive film and a first side of the first electrode; asecond electrode formed directly on the first side of the firstelectrode and a first side of the first isolation layer, wherein a colorof the second electrode is different from a color of the firstelectrode; a second isolation layer formed directly on a first side ofthe second electrode and the first side of the first isolation layer,wherein a color of the first isolation layer is the same as the color ofthe first electrode; an adhesive layer disposed directly on a first sideof the second isolation layer; and a second base plate formed directlyon a first side of the adhesive layer.
 2. The flat surface touch deviceof claim 1 further comprising: a hard coat disposed on a second side ofthe first base plate.
 3. The flat surface touch device of claim 2wherein the hard coat is a clear surface or an anti-glare surface. 4.The flat surface touch device of claim 1 wherein the first base plate isa transparent plastic base plate, and materials of the first base plateinclude glass, Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Acrylic,Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), or Polycarbonate.
 5. The flat surfacetouch device of claim 1 wherein the transparent conductive film includesIndium tin oxide (ITO), Indium zinc oxide (IZO), Aluminum zinc oxide(AZO), transparent conductive polymer film, or transparent metal film.6. The flat surface touch device of claim 1 wherein the second electrodeis distributed in dots or lines on the flat surface touch device.
 7. Theflat surface touch device of claim 1 wherein the second electrode is aconductive metal wire made of silver, copper or alloy.
 8. The flatsurface touch device of claim 1 wherein the second base plate is aconductive glass or a conductive transparent plastic base plate, andmaterials of the second base plate include glass, Polyethyleneterephthalate, Acrylic, Polymethylmethacrylate, or Polycarbonate.